


Cross-stitching

by AquaQuadrant



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble Series, F/M, Mild Angst, References To Past Kidnapping, References to Alcohol, Spirit AU, Tangledtober, a lot of varian introspection (to no one's surprise), feral!varianau, littlebrother!au, minor language, modern!AU, prompts, ratings and genres will vary, references to my other fic, references to past violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-07-23 09:19:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 7,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16156145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaQuadrant/pseuds/AquaQuadrant
Summary: A collection of unrelated drabbles for the Tangledtober challenge.Currently playing: Day 16 -Celestial.Up in the celestial plane, it’s easy to lose touch with mortality. (Spirit Au)





	1. Origin

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi readers! Tangledtober has given me the chance to try something new; a series of unrelated drabbles pertaining to the prompts. I don't have many of them planned out yet at the moment, so there could be a wide range of ratings, genres, and warnings. I'll update the fic to the most severe rating as the month progresses and update tags with each warning.
> 
> This is just a fun writing exercise, but if you enjoy what I come up with, I'd love to hear it! Thanks for reading! - Aqua
> 
> Day 1: _Origin_  
>  Rating/ Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, in between S1 and S2  
> Summary: Rapunzel’s thoughts on the sundrop flower, and inquiry as to its fate.

_Origin_

~*~

It’s… underwhelming.

Brown and shriveled and fragile, it its shell of glass. There’s no indication of the incredible power it holds, of the power to give life. And yet she can’t help but feel fondness towards it, feel a pull in her heart to this little wrinkled flower, the only reason she’s standing here today.

And then it’s gone, stolen by Varian and suddenly she has so much more to worry about.

She doesn’t think about the flower for a long time.

~*~

She asks him about it, later.

After.

After the kidnapping and the assault on Old Corona, after the automatons and near death and the black rocks. After the arrest and the trial and the sentencing. After sleepless nights and tired discussions and so many tight, frightened hugs she’s lost count.

She tries to keep her voice casual, standing awkwardly in the secure room that’s become his ‘cell,’ with nothing but a bed and a little dresser and his pet racoon. She fails, it seems, when he gives her a look. It’s the first time she’s been down to see him, after all, too busy worrying about how her mom and Cass have been recovering, and busy with preparations to leave, to follow the path laid out by the black rocks. Too stricken with turmoil and regret and even a little fear. So it’s the first time she’s seen him and he knows her question wasn’t made lightly.

He looks at her and she can see some glimmer of the boy he was before- the spark of curiosity, the scientist in him wondering about the _‘how’-_ and she sees the bitterness quickly rise up to swallow it. When he speaks, there’s that hard, cruel line of sick satisfaction, of the desire to hurt, curled into his lips.

“I crushed it into dust.”

She lets out a slow breath. He doesn’t stop her when she turns away to leave.

It’s sad, but now she knows. She cannot and will not find her answers here.

Her origin is not here.

~*~


	2. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: _Magic_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, S1  
> Summary: Eugene ponders the nature of magical hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Onto Day 2! Please don't be afraid to leave feedback if you enjoy, and I'll see you tomorrow! - Aqua

__

_Magic_

~*~

Eugene has seen a lot of things.

He considers himself fairly well-traveled, and for good reason. After a brief stint in an orphanage, constituting what most people call a childhood, he was out exploring the world and making his fortune. Or, attempting to, really. He’s glad he never did, because he never would’ve sought out the crown and been led to a far greater treasure.

Throughout the years, he thought he’d seen everything this world had to offer him.

But magic. That was a first.

All things considered, he took it remarkably well. In fact, he feels he should be commended for how well he took it. The implication that there were certain powers on this earth or beyond that could make death itself impermanent? That’d be enough to drive a lesser man into a crisis.

He’ll admit, it wasn’t the easiest thing to reckon with. The glowing, the healing, the old-lady-crumbling-into-dust thing. The bringing-back-to-life. The mysterious reappearance and sudden invulnerability. The semi-sentient behavior accompanied with weird, cryptic dreams. The black rocks.

It’s freaky. It’s scary. It makes him second guess just how safe they are, how safe Rapunzel is, and the whole thing is so incredibly unfair. Because after the life she lived in the tower, she deserves a life free of worry, danger, and uncertainty, and it kills him (for the second time) that he can’t give that to her. That fate had other things in mind when it decided to spontaneously grow seventy feet of magical hair from her head.

So, he doesn’t like magic.

But he believes in it.

Well, how could he not, right? After seeing what he’s seen? Experiencing it himself? He’d have to be an idiot or a certain river in Egypt not to accept that magic is real. But acknowledging something exists and _believing_ in it are two very different things.

Example.

There was a point where he knew his feelings for Rapunzel existed. But it wasn’t until that boat ride that he started to believe them.

So this time around, he’s chosen to believe in magic _without_ the boat ride.

Because that’s where he almost lost everything last time.

~*~


	3. Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: _Crew_  
>  Rating/Warning: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, S1  
> Summary: Lady Caine is part of a crew only when it’s convenient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys, thanks so much for the comments so far! I'm really enjoyed this challenge and I hope you are too! - Aqua

__

_Crew_

~*~

There’s a certain expectation to being in a crew, Lady Caine has discovered.

Dependability, loyalty, brotherhood- or sisterhood, in her case. They form for basic reasons; common goals, the need for support and protection, and they stay together because it’s easier than being on your own. Because pulling off a heist or holding up a bank or infiltrating a castle is much easier when you have backup. Plotting and planning is easier with several brains and pairs of eyes working at the problem.

It’s also messier. More potential for mistakes. More things out of your control. Clashing personalities and ideas, different wants and needs, and then feelings get in the mix and it’s an even bigger disaster. There are squabbles over the work schedule and squabbles over how profit is split and squabbles over the state of cleanliness in the sleeping quarters.

But there’s good parts, too. Having people to practice and hone your skills with. Teaching and learning from each other- if one of them can cook, all of them will in a matter of months. Knowing someone is watching your back. Having people to talk to. Hearing jokes and stories and perspectives from vastly different walks of life than your own. And suddenly people find themselves staying for reasons that are less practical and more personal.

In some ways, a crew is like a family.

Maybe that’s why she left.

~*~


	4. Little

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: _Little_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (minor angst)  
> Timeline: Canon, after the movie.  
> Summary: Arianna comes to terms with losing her daughter so young.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It was only a matter of time before I did something angsty. Please leave a comment if you enjoy! - Aqua

__

_Little_

~*~

Arianna is knelt by her dresser, her knees starting to ache from where they press into the floor.

She’s in her bedroom, hers and Frederic’s, and she’s alone. Everything is still and quiet and dim, the curtains drawn shut and the door closed. She’s grateful to have found a moment for herself, in the aftermath of all the excitement and celebration and emotion.

Her daughter came home yesterday.

It still doesn’t feel real. It feels like a wonderful dream she’s terrified of waking from. After losing hope for so long it’s almost too much for her heart, and it’s driven her here.

After the kidnapping, it had taken them over a year to finally get rid of all the baby stuff they’d prepared (they’d both clung onto the ‘what-ifs’ for as long as they could but it reached a point that having those reminders everywhere was just too painful). The crib and the mobile. Stuffed bears and rattles and blankets. Shelves of storybooks and an entire wardrobe of clothes.

But she couldn’t bear to part with _all_ of it.

Tucked away in one of her dresser drawers, untouched for years, now, is a baby’s dress. Soft, lilac fabric with white frilled lace along the edges and a satin bow across the neckline. It’s no larger than both Arianna’s hands put together.

Arianna has mourned her daughter countless times over these past eighteen years. Only now that she’s come home, practically a woman, does Arianna mourn her daughter’s childhood. Because it’s one thing to acknowledge the passing of time, the understanding that her lost daughter is aging, and it’s another thing entirely to see it for herself. And in order for her to let go of the child she lost and embrace the woman who’s returned, she must mourn. She mourns all the years of growth she never got to see, all the important milestones she missed, all the times she never got to hold Rapunzel in her arms.

She clutches the baby dress to her chest and cries.

It’s so little.

~*~


	5. Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: _Adventure_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, S2  
> Summary: Cass is enjoying this adventure more than she thought she would. She doesn’t know what to make of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: YO we still out here.... hope you're enjoying this so far! Thanks to those who have commented! - Aqua

_Adventure_

~*~

Cass never fancied herself the adventuring type.

It’s not to say the whole concept is _entirely_ unappealing. Testing your strength and resolve and determination. Battling the elements and long roads and whatever you happen to face on the way. Seeing new places, meeting new people, finding new problems to solve. She can understand the allure of it, particularly when adventuring is done with some grand goal or prize in mind.

But it’s selfish, she thinks. It’s putting your own desire for glory and excitement above everything else. It’s looking at everything you have and everyone you know and saying _it’s not enough._ That you want more, that you want whatever’s _out there_ more.

Coming from nothing the way she has, having a massive question mark where her family history should be, has made Cass learn to be content with what she has. If she allows herself to wonder, to hope, to speculate about who might be out there for her, what her past is, what her future might’ve been, she knows she’ll never be satisfied. Because whoever gave her up isn’t coming back and there’s no way of knowing. She can _never_ truly know.

So protecting her home, her kingdom, became her drive, and has been her entire life. Training longer and harder than anyone else. Giving everything she has to it so no one can ever claim she doesn’t belong. Corona is her entire future; her plan, as long as she can remember, has been to become a Royal Guard- even the Captain, _way_ off in the future- and serve.

But things have changed.

_Rapunzel_ changed things. Particularly, her power to interact with the mysterious black rocks. Suddenly, Cass found herself on a mission, a quest, an _adventure,_ to follow the path laid before them. Taking them beyond Corona’s walls, farther than Cass has ever dreamed of venturing, and with no idea when they’ll return.

And… it’s okay, because she’s still serving her kingdom. She’s helping Rapunzel, the princess, get to the bottom of a mystery that affects the entire kingdom. She’s had to leave her home in order to protect it, and that means this journey is really her duty.

So if she finds herself getting wrapped up in the spirit of adventure, wondering what all is truly out there, feeling a pull deep inside her getting stronger the farther they go…

Well.

There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?

~*~


	6. Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: _Heal_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, post S1  
> Summary: There’s a difference between fixing and healing, Varian thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is from Varian’s POV. He’s not a reliable narrator. It does not accurately reflect what happened. It is not my own feeling about the situation or Rapunzel as a character. And please don’t try to start discourse in the comments, or jump in like, “Yeah! Rapunzel is horrible for x and x reasons!” or “Varian’s right he did nothing wrong!” because none of that is the point of this drabble. Thanks in advance, hope you enjoy! - Aqua

_Heal_

~*~

Varian’s been thinking.

It’s all he can do, lately. His days are occupied with community service (“a merciful punishment,” the nobles sneer at him) and when he’s not doing that he’s locked in a room with nothing to do but think.

Maybe that’s the point. Maybe they think time will give him perspective, that he’ll think about what he did and why it was wrong. They’re only half correct; he’s gained perspective, all right, but not the kind they likely wanted for him.

He’s gained perspective on how unfair this whole situation is. Their ‘solution’ was to lock him away and give him busy work, _chores,_ essentially, while the king employed his own team of scientists to try and get Dad out of the amber. They don’t inform Varian of what’s going on and they don’t give him the chance to contribute. It rings loud and clear; ‘go do your chores while the adults handle this.’

The problem with that is if anyone in this entire godforsaken kingdom was actually competent, then Varian wouldn’t have had to do what he did in the first place.

But more so, he’s gained perspective on the princess. In the form of a song she once sang in his presence, all those long months ago. He can almost hear it, now.

_‘Flower, gleam and glow…’_

Healing.

There’s a difference between fixing and healing. Healing is passive, ultimately. Yes, the human body works hard to overcome illness or injury, but what do you do? Rest, and let the body work- _rest, and let the adults work, rest, and let the magic work-_

You don’t use your mind or your hands to do it, you don’t actively heal yourself. The process is immediate and thoughtless and involuntary. A million tiny cogs in a machine working seamlessly, designed by nature.

Fixing, on the other hand, requires action. A broken house doesn’t heal itself, you fix it. And that’s where he and the princess differ.

Growing up alone in a tower with the power to heal has made her lose perspective. She never had to deal with her actions having consequences on anyone other than herself. She is used to being able to magically heal that which has been hurt without much effort. He understands that better, now, understands why she acted the way she did even _after_ the storm. Why, when faced with the realization that her decision, though the right one, had hurt someone, she hid from it.

But he isn’t sympathetic. He can’t afford to be, not when Dad’s life hangs in the balance.

There’s a difference between fixing and healing. Varian doesn’t know if the princess has fully grasped that yet. But if she hasn’t, she will soon.

Because he _will_ fix this.

And there will be no healing the hurt he will inflict.

~*~


	7. Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: _Sun_  
>  Rating/Warning: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, post movie.  
> Summary: Eugene loves someone who is part human and part sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Week one down, woo hoo! Please don't be shy if you're enjoying this little series, I'd love to know what you think so far! Now on this drabble, I've always felt like the idea that Rapunzel simply _held_ the power of the sun, and that it was lost when her hair was cut (and the last of it was the tear that healed Eugene) and that she _gained_ it back by touching the rocks is... not my favorite idea. To me, Rapunzel _is_ the sundrop. - Aqua

_Sun_

~*~

It’s a strange thing, to love the sun.

Rapunzel is a person- a wonderful, beautiful person with feelings and thoughts and flaws like everyone else- but there’s also something in her that is very much not so.

Eugene hears people talk about her. Among other things- people talk a lot and there’s a lot to talk about as of late. Of course, the knowledge of the power she used to have has spread. There’s mixed reactions across the board; people who refuse to believe she ever had powers, people who express relief that they’re gone, and people who lament the loss of such a helpful skill.

 _The legendary power of the sundrop,_ they say, _lost forever. What a shame._

Eugene disagrees.

Not only because it was the whole reason she was kidnapped in the first place, and that it being gone puts her at less risk. It’s his opinion that just because her hair’s gone, just because she can’t heal, doesn’t mean she’s not the sundrop anymore.

He saw it in her from the very first moment, in the glow of her eyes and the brightness of her smile and the almost burning intensity with which she regarded him, the light she cast on any attempts by him to conceal himself from her, his _true_ self; she saw right through it from the very start. And it’s the same warmth he feels on a sunny day but in a person, and she brings it wherever she goes.

It’s those flashes of inhuman, of unnatural, of _magic_ you can only see when you get close and then you remember; the life coursing through her is celestial in origin and there will always be a part of her that doesn’t seem entirely grounded to the earth.

Oddly enough, he almost feels like he sees it _more_ now that her hair’s gone. She’s hiding less. It’s like there’s less weighing her down, not just physically, and she lifts her chin sometimes when she talks. With nothing in her face, her eyes glow more brightly.

Or maybe it’s just because he’s spent more time with her now, because she’s growing more confident and self-assured, the shadows of the tower drawing farther and farther away like shrinking waves. It’s hard to say.

But he sees the sun in her as clearly as the one in the sky and he’ll keep looking at it even if it blinds him.

Because he loves the person Rapunzel is and that means he loves every part of her- even, and especially, when it’s strange.

~*~


	8. Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: _Moon_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: A little blurb set in my LittleBrother!au fic, _Darkness Exists To Make Light Truly Count,_ post Act II.  
>  Summary: Varian is the moon and his sister is the sun and he’s well accustomed to shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So this is a little treat, it’s set in the verse of my fic _Darkness Exists._ If you haven’t read it, the brief summary is that Varian has moon powers and Gothel kidnapped him as a baby, raising him in the tower as Rapunzel’s little brother. This drabble takes place after they’ve been rescued by Eugene and are living in the castle, maybe a month or so.
> 
> Unsurprisingly, this is my longest one yet. Hope you enjoy, I’d love to hear what you think! - Aqua

__

_Moon_

~*~

Only a month since the tower and Varian’s learned a lot.

The castle has a library and it’s bigger than his and Rapunzel’s rooms back at the tower combined, bigger than the bookstore he saw in the town. Polished bookshelves line the walls all the way to the high ceilings, rolling ladders attached to the sides to reach the books at the very top. They screech when he moves them and the sound echoes loudly in the space but no one yells at him so he keeps going.

There are books about anything he could ever imagine and then some. He tears into the alchemy and engineering books first, hungrily, hardly taking time to absorb the knowledge before moving on because he can’t contain his enthusiasm. There’s also books on cooking and carpentry and botany and smithing, storybooks that spin the most fantastical tales of magic and adventure, encyclopedias and dictionaries and more than he can name.

He’s glad for the distraction. Lately, everything is strange- the tall, endless hallways of the castle and the blur of faces of new people. Fitting into Rapunzel’s new schedule; the time she spends with Eugene and her parents and her people and learning her trade- because being a princess is a full-time job and she has Cassandra, also new, to help her but sometimes it’s not enough- and so she’s busy.

He understands, and he still sees her every day. At meals and at night when he ignores the room they gave him on a different floor than Rapunzel’s and climbs up onto her bed- her massive, fancy new bed- and she’ll sing to him and her hair doesn’t glow anymore but the song sounds the same. He snuggles beside her until he falls into an uneasy sleep like they did so many nights at the tower, always when they were younger but plenty of times when they were older, too.

But sometimes it’s still hard and so the distraction is welcome. Books are familiar and comforting, and the new scope of it is exciting instead of daunting.

He hardly sleeps for it, wanting to take advantage of this while he can because no matter how much he’s reassured, he can’t help but feel like he’s waiting for the penny to drop. For something else to happen that’ll change things again and take him away from this place- _for the tattered history book to burn over a candle and be tossed into a fireplace-_ and he’s got to be ready.

He finds an astronomy book on his third day exploring the library. The cover is blue with delicate constellations on it and fancy, looping script. The spark of curiosity and realization he feels takes him by surprise; for someone whose powers come from the moon, he’s never been horribly interested in astronomy before and he almost feels sheepish.

It’s big and heavy, barely fitting in his arms. The thick pages are yellowed slightly with age and scrawled with fine ink in between a few scarce illustrations. He dives into it without hesitation, having tackled much more difficult subjects before, and there’s a sort of charm to it. All this thought and effort and study put into something truly beyond reach. To what end, he wonders; it’s not as if anything could ever be done with the sun and moon and stars, they simply hang in the sky and share their light with the people below. No experiments to be conducted, no practical uses-

A sentence stops him cold.

_‘I say that as the moon has no light in itself and yet is luminous, it is inevitable but that its light is caused by some other body.’_

He reads more.

He finds evidence, proofs and theorems and data- _science,_ he’s always trusted, science that never lies- all stating the same thing; the moon does not give off its own light, it just reflects the sun’s.

He pauses, brows furrowing. His gloved hands brush the page, carefully, to ensure he’s reading the words correctly. His throat tightens, stomach drops. And then he closes the book, carefully, and slips it back into its spot on the shelf.

Old feelings well up again like peeling off a scab. 

He’s the bad one, no light of his own. He’s always felt it but now he _knows_ and the scary thing isn’t that it hurts, because it doesn’t- not like he’d expect, not like it should.

It scares him because he’s almost vindicated by it, a sick, grim sense of satisfaction carving a grin onto his face.

 _I was right,_ his mind whispers. _I’m only good because of Rapunzel._

There’s a security in knowing, a bizarre sense of relief. And it makes sense; left to himself he does bad- _‘after everything I’ve done,’ Mother hisses, ‘I can’t believe you would still betray me like this’-_

And without Rapunzel he would’ve done worse- _power, magic, life, draining from Mother and flowing into him, her hair graying, her skin withering, wasting away before his very eyes-_

And maybe Rapunzel doesn’t believe it, maybe she still clings to the idea that he’s good- but _of course_ she does, because she’s the good one. She’s the sun and she’s the light and Varian finally understands why.

Without the sun, the moon would be lost to the darkness.

So he doesn’t have to worry, because he and Rapunzel will always have each other.

Just like she promised.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The quote is actually from an essay by Leonardo Da Vinci, credited as one of the people responsible for popularizing the idea that the moon doesn’t give off its own light. – Aqua


	9. Alternate Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9: _Alternate Universe_  
>  Rating/Warning: K+ (minor language, mentions of drinking)  
> Timeline: Spirit Au  
> Summary: Eugene meets a girl in a subway station who’s as equally likely to be a hallucination as she is an angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey readers, so this drabble is from something of mine called the Spirit Au, you can find a whole explanation and some art under the tag ‘spirit au’ on my tumblr blog. But the gist of it is that Rapunzel is a winged celestial spirit who, along with her surrogate brother Varian, rules the celestial plane and keeps the balance of the universe. One day, they’re struck down to earth (modern day times) by Zhan Tiri, separated by a continent and left weakened. Rapunzel comes across Eugene, a mortal who has the rare ability to see celestial spirits, and employs his help to find Varian, reunite, and defeat Zhan Tiri.
> 
> I really love this au but I don’t think I’ll be able to write it anytime soon, so I wanted to show it some love in a drabble and this was the perfect opportunity. Hope you enjoy, please reblog/comment if you do! - Aqua

__

_Alternate Universe_

~*~

Eugene jogs down the stairs into the subway, his fingers ghosting the handrail.

His headphones finally bit the dust yesterday so he’s not listening to music like he’d usually be. Unfortunate, but it’s still an odd early hour in the morning, so hopefully there won’t be too much noise and he can enjoy his commute in relative peace. Well, as peaceful as New York can be, anyways.

There’s a girl standing on the subway platform.

She’s a few years younger than him, with big green eyes and a splash of freckles across her fair skin. Her attire is strange; a flowing purple dress like something out of a history book, and her feet are bare- Eugene cringes, thinking of all the unsavory things he’s encountered on subway floors. And of course, there’s the massive length of thick, blonde hair trailing down her back and piling on the floor in a heap.

That’s a _lot_ of hair.

But most jarring, oddly enough, is the fact that she looks like she’s about to cry.

Eugene doesn’t make a habit of talking to strangers. That’s a fast way to waste a lot of time or make headway unwanted interactions. And he tries not to talk to women he doesn’t know in situations like this, not wanting to make them nervous (he’ll keep an invisible eye on them until they get helped by another woman or someone they know shows up for them, just in case).

But she is so clearly out of her element that Eugene would feel bad leaving her like this without at least trying.

“Hey,” he calls gently, not stepping any closer. “You okay? Do you want me to call someone for you, or…?”

The girl’s head had snapped up at Eugene’s voice. She stares at him uncertainly, eyes impossibly wide, before she breaks into a grin and rushes over.

_‘You can see me?’_

Eugene jumps back, startled.

He sees her mouth moving, but her voice is mostly in his head, like a whisper that gets louder as it reaches his ears and echoes around in them. Or maybe he’s drunk. Maybe he got wasted at Lance’s last night and this is the oddly vivid and bizarre hangover dream. As far as hangover dreams go, this is admittedly one of his best and most coherent.

The girl doesn’t notice him stall. _‘Thank goodness,’_ she says, relieved, _‘I have been trying to find someone who can see me for hours, what luck!’_

Well, it’s not like Eugene has anything else to do other than indulge this weird dream specter. “What, you mean no one else can?” he asks, glancing around. The platform is empty at the moment, as fate would have it.

 _‘No,’_ the girl says sadly, _‘but it’s to be expected. Most mortals can’t.’_

Eugene blinks. This is… going on a bit too long for comfort and still feels incredibly real. Pinching himself isn’t waking him up. Maybe he’s not dreaming, he’s hallucinating.

Or, maybe _she_ is. Wouldn’t be the first one he’d come across before- hell, wouldn’t be the first one he’d come across this _month._ Damn shame, that- because she was pretty cute- but it couldn’t be helped in a city like this. You were bound to run into those who were less attuned to reality at some point.

“Yeah, well…” Eugene inches away, a strained smile on his face. “Nice meeting you, but I’ve got a train-”

 _‘Oh, how rude of me!’_ The girl perks up. _‘I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rapunzel.’_

“… Rapunzel,” Eugene repeats. He puts his hands on his hips, almost amused now. “Like, storybook princess, locked in a tower, let-down-your-hair, happily ever after? _That_ Rapunzel?”

 _‘Storybook?’_ Rapunzel tilts her head. _‘Oh, I… is that how my story’s been told?’_

“Uh.” Eugene raises an eyebrow. “… is that not what happened?”

Rapunzel shakes her head earnestly. _‘Oh, no, no, no, that was all true.’_

She beams at him, and suddenly her eyes are all gold light. Giant, feathery white wings unfurl out of nowhere, as if sprouted from her back, stretching towards the roof of the cramped subway.

_‘But it was only the beginning.’_

~*~


	10. Royal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: _Royal_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, S1  
> Summary: Even in his wildest dreams, Eugene never fancied himself as royalty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi readers! Sorry this one's coming a bit late, I've got to play some catch-up so you can hopefully be expecting others very soon. Feedback is appreciated! - Aqua

__

_Royal_

~*~

Even in his wildest dreams, Eugene never fancied himself as royalty.

Not as a child in an orphanage, yearning for the adventurous life written out in storybooks. Not as a young man travelling the world in pursuit of fortune. Not even as the princess’s boyfriend- which, yes, he knows it’s a bit of an oxymoron.

As Rapunzel’s husband he won’t be a king in the same way her father is, but it’ll be enough. After all, Queen Arianna may have only married in but when he looks at her, he thinks royal. When she speaks, it rings loud and clear. At a glance, she doesn’t have the same power as her husband, but Eugene knows she’s involved behind the scenes. King Frederic trusts and seeks out her counsel and when she’s out in public or hosting an event that title is worn in the same way her crown is.

Except she can’t take off the title the way she can her crown.

Honestly? It terrifies him. Always having that pressure. He can handle responsibility, but not when it affects thousands of people. His consequences have always affected him and him alone, or whatever partner he happened to have at the time. This is an entirely new level and he doesn’t think he’s ready for it.

No, scratch that, he _knows_ he’s not ready for it. How could he possibly ready for it when his fingers still itch to steal? When he wakes up in the middle of the night and starts packing a get-away bag before he remembers where he is? When staying inside too long sets him on edge with the illogical need to escape?

When his debut to the kingdom was stealing the crown of their beloved lost princess?

It’s a lot to overcome. Eugene’s not perfect, despite how he pretends and postures. Only part of it is genuine- after all, he didn’t get this far on fake confidence and he’s learned to appreciate himself to a certain degree. But a lot of it is for show and if people start looking closer, it’s only a matter of time before the gig is up. 

But he’s found a way to handle it. He can’t let himself forget that being royalty someday is what comes with being Rapunzel’s husband. Courageous, beautiful, kind Rapunzel who grew up locked in a tower and probably feels just as ready for this as he does, if not _less,_ because the majority of it will come down on _her_ head. Rapunzel, who has yet to fully get used to wearing shoes or curtsying or being more than a healing song. Rapunzel, who always keeps trying and gives him strength when he is failing and finds the light in the darkness.

The truth is, neither of them are ready to be royalty.

But so long as they have each other, they don’t have to be.

~*~


	11. Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11: _Sword_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Dark Kingdom Cassandra speculation  
> Summary: Cassandra's spent her whole life preparing to wield a sword she doesn't know is waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, this prompt was the sole reason I came to a screeching halt. I’ve written several past this, but for the longest time I just… sword? What do I do for sword??? I had a rough idea of using a sword to look through Cassandra’s childhood, growing up with the Captain, training with the guards, but then in the discord server we got to talking about how… unusual her circumstances are, which turned into more Dark Kingdom Cassandra theories. And thus, I found my hook.
> 
> I’ll be uploading the ones I have done gradually, and will definitely not get them all done in October. But! I WILL get them all done eventually.

__

_Sword_

~*~

Cassandra is four when she first picks up a sword.

She’s asked before, but this is the first time Dad lets her hold his; he’s knelt beside her, smiling encouragement, hands held out careful, warning her that it’s heavy and not to touch the edges because they’re sharp. The shiny metal blade is cool on her bare palm, her other small hand gripped around the handle, and it’s heavy like Dad said. Childish curiosity makes her wonder if the edges really _are_ sharp, too, like Dad says, but obedience keeps her from testing it.

She asks him when she can get one of her own, and Dad’s smile fades when he says, _soon._

Cassandra is six when she gets a sword of her own.

Wooden, not metal. Shorter and lighter than Dad’s, dull at the end and rounded at the edges. But Cassandra couldn’t care less; it’s a sword and it’s hers and she gets to practice with it. Side by side with Dad as he trains his guards, hacking away at her own little cloth dummy. Dad’s eye is sharp and misses nothing, constantly critiquing her form and stance. He pushes her hard, but not harder than Cassandra pushes herself.

It’s never a game to her and soon enough, Dad sees it, too.

Cassandra is eight when she gets a metal sword.

A real one, that’s sharp and heavy and _everything._ She trains directly with the guards now, a girl of overgrown bangs and knobby knees training beside grown men and keeping pace. The experienced, full-time guards have accepted her presence and taken her as one of their own, giving her pointers and sneaking her treats from the kitchen when Dad isn’t looking. The new recruits learn quickly not to mock her because she’s small and agile and has mastered the practice of going for the knees and you only need to get a face full of mud once, tipped over by a girl half your size, to get the message.

Dad’s proud, but strict, and when Cassandra asks him what he’s preparing her for, he doesn’t answer.

Cassandra is twenty-two and she has a virtual armory of weapons.

Swords and daggers and maces and bows and axes and halberds and yet, oddly enough, she’s always drawn back to swords as her weapon of choice. Maybe it’s the versatility- both a blessing and a curse. A sword in a skilled hand presents unlimited opportunities, but far fewer people know how to counter a mace effectively. If she had to explain it, she’d say that the shape just feels natural in her hand.

It serves her well, so she doesn’t worry about it.

Cassandra is twenty-five when she assumes the throne of the Dark Kingdom.

After an unexpected, life changing journey and a slew of near-death experiences and a couple shocking revelations, she’s found herself with a hidden lineage and the rule of the ruins of a once grand kingdom, felled by its own pride. She wears the crown of her blood father but has the support of her Dad and her home at her back, her best friend a queen in her own right though she won’t hold the title for a good few years, and her coronation is a resurrection and the promise of new beginnings.

When Adira hands Cassandra her sword, shaped from the black rocks, it feels natural in her hand in a way no sword ever has before; a dark sword for a dark queen. She wields it with the skill of a warrior and the might of a ruler, and her reign is secure.

And when she finally realizes that this is what she’s been preparing her entire life for, she knows it’s worth it.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whether you support the theory or not, you have to admit the image of Cass wielding Adira's black sword is pretty awesome. Hope you enjoyed, please let me know if you did! - Aqua


	12. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12: _Home_  
>  Rating/Warnings: K+ (minor language)  
> Timeline: Canon, post S1  
> Summary: Varian is homesick for a place that no longer feels like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This one can sort of be considered a companion to Day 6: Heal. Same disclaimer applies; please do not start discourse in the comments. - Aqua

__

Home

__

_  
_

~*~

Varian is homesick for a place that no longer feels like home.

It’s a strange place to be. He longs to be out of this room, this watered-down version of a cell, and to return to his lab in Old Corona, to Dad. He longs for his equipment and machines and notes so he can get to work and find a solution.

But that’s not home.

His house in Old Corona hasn’t been home for a while now. Not since the accident. How can he find comfort in the same walls that are now his dad’s prison? When black rocks spear through the floors like the teeth of some giant, gaping maw rising up around him? When it’s hardly even standing now, torn apart in his own fit of rage?

Maybe longing isn’t the right word. He _needs_ to be back in his lab in Old Corona, he _needs_ to free his dad, but deep in his heart he longs for home and that’s not it. Home is before, prior to, formerly. Before the automatons, before the accident, before the black rocks. When Dad was okay and Varian still made mistakes but they were smaller, less serious, and he kept trying.

He hates feeling like this. He hates longing for a home that no longer exists, feeling like he belongs nowhere because Old Corona isn’t home and the castle sure as hell isn’t. And all the while, he finds himself wondering if he’s the only one who feels this way, or if the princess feels it, too.

It always comes back to the princess, doesn’t it? And he _hates_ that, hates the fact that he can’t seem to forget about her the way she so readily forgot about him.

But he can’t help it.

Because it makes sense, right? Her old tower can’t possibly be home now. Not after everything that took place there, after the lies and the destruction and ruin (he was watching the night the tower fell, of course). Not after the death of her kidnapper, masqueraded as a parent (he did his research and the story’s spread far and wide but carefully out of the royal’s awareness). After tragedy stained all her cherished childhood memories, her sense of comfort and security and belonging.

He might be inclined to say the castle is her home now, the kingdom of Corona, but-

Well.

He just doesn’t believe that. Not after seeing her. Not after the way she looked when she came to see him last, before she departed after the trail of black rocks. There’s longing in her eyes, too, for something that isn’t here and may not even lie ahead.

Longing for something that might not exist, and he’s confident it has to do with the sundrop in her veins. There’s a part of her not of this earth- he saw it that night in Old Corona and now can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner- and that’s doomed her to never belonging, not quite. She can try all she likes to fit, but it’ll never work.

But there’s no satisfaction in knowing this, in telling himself he’s not alone in this, that the princess will always feel outcasted from a home this way.

Because if that’s true…

Then where does it leave him?

~*~


	13. Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13: _Song_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, post movie  
> Summary: Rapunzel’s life belongs to a song.

__

_Song_

~*~

Rapunzel knows how to sing before she can talk.

Her first words are lyrics she doesn’t remember learning, as constant in her life as the rising and setting of the sun. When she’s a little girl, barely walking, she thinks her name is _Sing-For-Me._ Later, _Flower._

As she grows, the lyrics are always there in the back of her mind, balancing on the tip of her tongue, breath held anxious in her throat. It’s a routine and an expectation and although it’s quick and painless and not at all troublesome, she anticipates it, every day.

Even now, after the tower, she’s always ready to sing it at a moment’s notice, a lifetime of training leaving the notes instantly within reach so that- even if her voice is clouded with morning rasp or strained from a cold- it’ll be pitch-perfect.

Even now, after her hair doesn’t glow and the words hold no power, the song holds her and doesn’t seem like it’ll ever let go. She hears it in dreams and nightmares, a comfort in one second and a horror in the next. She still anticipates it, and in those first few weeks out of the tower she sings it to herself when she’s certain no one can hear, just because she can’t relax until she does.

But somehow, through it all, music hasn’t been ruined for her. She doesn’t shy away from the maid humming a cheerful tune, doesn’t object to the singing tutor her parents employ for her, enjoys writing and singing her own songs whether they’re dedicated projects or whims of the heart. She learns to play instruments with enthusiasm and listens to performers in the market square at her leisure.

She’s grateful for it. So much has changed in such little time that she doesn’t know what she’d do if she couldn’t enjoy music and singing anymore. And it gives her hope that the tower hasn’t ruined her, that she can overcome its effects little by little.

That one day, the song will just be a song.

~*~


	14. Fog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14: _Fog_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Canon, S1 finale  
> Summary: The significance of Varian’s use of fog isn’t lost on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Surprise, surprise, another Varian chapter XD Again; please do not start any discourse in the comments. - Aqua

__

_Fog_

~*~

Varian’s plan begins with fog.

He releases it into the town as a distraction, as cover, a ploy to divert and conceal while he executes his true goal. As someone who spent much of his life seeking attention, he’s confident in his ability to seize it now- negative attention is still attention, he’s learned, which is why he always persevered despite the risks.

People fear most that which they cannot see.

(And it doesn’t hurt to actually have a monster of his own lurking in the fog.) 

The irony isn’t lost on him. This whole time, he’s been accusing the royals of hiding behind the walls of their castle and keeping the truth from their people as the disaster of the black rocks ravages the kingdom. In a way, they’ve used a fog of their own as their weapon of choice; a fog of confusion and compliance and the secret threat of ‘magic’ no one understands.

And now he’s used it against them. He’s fine with that. He never claimed to be on some honorable crusade. The option of an open and honest and civil resolution to this conflict has never been on the table, not since the moment the king decided to keep Corona in the dark.

So Varian’s merely stooped to their level. Sneaky, underhanded deceit. Misdirection and dishonesty. It’s not any fault of his; they wrote the rules to this game, he’s just outplaying them.

Call it… poetic justice.

And when the fog clears, there’ll be nowhere left to hide for any of them.

They’d better be ready.

~*~


	15. Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: _Forest_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Feral!Varian Au (Parents died when he was a baby, and he was raised by wolves)  
> Summary: Varian is a wolf and the forest is his home but sometimes there are things beyond and he is curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi yall, so this is an au I only talked about very briefly on the Tangled discord, a long time ago. Basically, Quirin and his wife are killed by Bad Guys TM when Varian is just a little baby. Left in the woods to die, he’s instead taken in by a pack of wolves and grows up with them. Eventually, the black rocks push his pack towards human civilization and then shenanigans ensue.
> 
> Again, if I ever write anything for this it won’t be any time soon, so I pay homage to it with a drabble. Hope you enjoy, please leave a comment fi you did! - Aqua

__

Forest

__

_  
_

~*~

He is a wolf and the forest is his home.

It does not matter that he does not look like his litter mates. It does not matter that he is small and pale and hairless (aside from the dark scruff on his head) and has no claws or fangs. He sees the world as a wolf does and his sense of smell is very close to his litter mates’ and when he howls it is a wolf’s howl, indistinguishable from the rest of his pack.

(He does not know the name once given to him by humans, Varian, nor does he have one of his own because wolves do not so much assign names as they do sounds meaning _you_ and _me_ and _them._ The rest is known through body language and you cannot place names to the flick of an ear or the swish of a tail.)

To him and his pack, he is one with them. He sleeps and hunt and plays as they do, slightly different to account for his slight differences. Like the odd shape of his front paws that allows him to hold things, the pain-sickness that makes him unable to eat the fur-prey his pack eats and leaves him eating only scaly water-prey and plants, the way he can balance on his hind legs for a short time, the strange whispering-idea in his head that pushes him to try things no wolf has tried before (if he were to name it, he would name it Curious, but wolves do not give names).

He has no fur to protect him from cold so he makes them from kills, taking their pelts and tying them together in the way he sees net-traps tied (he is not supposed to play with them, he knows, but he has Curious, and by taking them apart he has learned to copy the knots and that is a good skill so it is a good thing and worth the risk).

He wears no pelts on his paws. He has tried, but it made it too hard to climb and dig and hunt, and his paws have gotten thick from rough ground anyways so he does not need the protection like he does for the soft skin on the rest of his body.

It is only a problem when the cold comes and the ground is white and wet and freezing with snow. It has only happened a couple times in his life and when it does he stays in the den like the younger pups and the pack takes care of him. But it does not happen much so he does not worry about it.

Much of the time, the ground is soft and warm beneath his paws and he can run and play and hunt without freezing. The sunlight shines down through the trees and wind carries scents and scatters leaves and it is good.

Sometimes it is not good. Sometimes humans venture into the forest, with their burning-sticks and big-deer-cousins and they trample the bushes and cut down branches. They are loud and smelly and easily avoided. Sometimes the hunting-humans come, creeping quiet and deadly and placing their net-traps to try and catch him and his pack. Those are harder to avoid but wolves are more clever and soon enough, the danger passes.

But lately, there is a danger that has not passed.

There is a sickness in the forest and it takes the shape of black rocks. They grow up from the ground like bush thorns and they shine bright light and then they stay. They are dangerous when they grow because they rip up dens and burrows and anything standing in their way and they are dangerous when they stay because they disrupt the safety of the forest, sending prey fleeing farther away, killing trees and plants and rivers.

His pack does not like the black rocks. They sniff them and bare their teeth and move farther and father away from them, moving from the safety of their den and their territory. They move away from the deepest parts of the forest, closer to the borders where the humans live and it is dangerous but not as dangerous as the black rocks.

But perhaps the most danger lies within him. The closer to the human world they get the more he hears Curious inside him, telling him to look and explore and stray farther from the forest.

He is not supposed to do this, he knows. He is a wolf and a wolf’s home is in the forest. There is danger to be found in the human world, hunting-humans with their net-traps to ensnare and flying-thorns to pierce skin and they do not like wolves near their dens.

But if he can follow Curious and find what is making the black rocks, he can stop it, and then the forest will be safe again. That is a good thing.

And good things are worth the risk.

~*~


	16. Celestial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16: _Celestial_  
>  Rating/Warnings: G (none)  
> Timeline: Spirit Au  
> Summary: Up in the celestial plane, it’s easy to lose touch with mortality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Is it cheating if I use the same AU twice? XD Here’s more of the Spirit Au featured in Day 9. - Aqua

__

_Celestial_

~*~

“Do you miss it?”

Rapunzel glances over at Varian when he speaks, confusion written into the knit of her brows. The pair of spirits are resting on a small cache of clouds, the mortal world spread out far, far below them, only faint swaths of green visible to the eye.

There’s a pensive look on Varian’s face, his gray-blue eyes distant, his black wings ruffling the way they do when he’s thinking, the tips of feathers dragging through the wispy clouds beneath them.

Rapunzel follows his gaze to the world down below, tilting her head. “Yes,” she concedes after a moment. “But I don’t regret our decision.”

It’s Varian’s turn to be confused. “Really?” he asked, frowning. “Why?”

Rapunzel smiles, a bit wistful. “Because as hard as it was to leave everyone… my parents… this way, I was able to protect them. Everyone, the whole mortal world, forever. We’ve done so much they’re unaware of, now. We’re the only thing keeping balance so the world we came from can keep growing and thriving, and to me, that makes it worth it.”

Varian nods slowly. “You’re right,” he says eventually. “I don’t regret it either, it’s- it’s just… weird, to think about sometimes. That the celestial plane has always been here, and now that we’re a part of it… the world feels smaller.”

They’re silent for a while longer. A gentle breeze whistles through their hair and feathers, playing with the clouds beneath them. The sun’s warmth covers them like a blanket, like a reassuring hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder and a kind smile, _my child,_ a whisper in her ear.

“We ought to visit sometime,” Varian says unprompted. His lip tugs up in a wry smile, that crooked, bucktoothed grin that emphasizes his young appearance. “I’ll bet a lot has changed in the past few centuries.”

“I’ll bet it has,” Rapunzel agrees. “Perhaps we will. But first,” she stands, cloud magically solid beneath her bare feet, and stretches her arms and wings simultaneously, “we should finish our patrol.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Varian relents, rising to his own feet. His dark wings are a shadow in her peripheral. “Race you to the northern hemisphere?”

Rapunzel snaps her wings open with a grin of her own. “You’re on!”

The spirits lift off in a flurry of black and white feathers, vaulting careless and powerful through the sky-above-the-sky, the stretch of mortal world forgotten below them.

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: PS, if anyone would like all the details and prompts of Tangledtober, go to this link! The blog will be tracking the tumblr tag #Tangledtober and reblogging (appropriate) entries. - Aqua
> 
> https://tangledadventures.tumblr.com/post/178366143658/are-you-ready-for-something-spooky-something-fun


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